Like us, sharks can feel things that touch their skin. They can also feel things that are nearby, from the ripples they make as water flows around them.
Like humans, sharks have nerve ending's all over their skin that feel pressure, temperature and pain.
Sharks also have an extra sense organ called "LATERAL LINE". This is a long tube running down each side of sharks body, under it's skin.
As a shark swims, ripples in the water pass into the lateral line through tiny holes in the skin. Hair's inside the lateral line sense the ripples, and send signal's to the sharks brain.
All fish, not just sharks, have lateral lines.
Sharks use their sense of touch to navigate. They can feel where obstacles are, even if they can't see them.
Sharks have taste buds inside their mouths.
As well as tasting the food they eat, sharks can taste chemicals dissolved in the water. This help them to find prey and avoid pollution.
Some sharks have fleshy whiskers on their snouts called barbels. This can sense the location of food on the seabed.
FACT: A sharks can sense a turtle, octopus or other prey from up to 20m away.